Book Buddies

Book Buddies is Bupa's national reading partners' volunteering scheme, which aims to increase the reading age of primary school children. The scheme, Community Connections' first employee volunteering scheme, was set up in 2002 in London and has since expanded to other key Bupa sites such as Staines, Salford Quays, Brighton and Leeds.

Each Bupa Book Buddy volunteer spends an hour per week or fortnight in a local primary school to help children with their reading through a structured reading session. As well as trying to improve the reading age of the child, the scheme also works to develop a love of reading, increase their confidence and self-esteem, and leave them with a real sense of achievement.